Of Nurses and Exes
by PuckabrinaLuva Shanji
Summary: "20 bucks says they get together by the end of the month." A short fic about a moment between Carol and Doug when her date cancels. This is around mid season 3. Please give it a read.


Of Doctors and Exes

A/N: Hey guys, this is just an idea I recently had after binge watching ER because of George Clooney, and I got invested in another ship that joins my armada; Doug and Carol. I don't know if this is good or not, but give it a shot and see if you like it. I just really wish there was an intense confrontation scene between those two, like something that shocked Carol into seeing how changed he is; like a sort of indirect declaration of love, but not because he wanted her selfishly, but to give her self confidence. This is mid season 3, pre-Toby (just a random guy Carol went on a date with in season 3). Also, Tag refers to the guy Carol almost married in season 1.

It was a relatively quiet night in the Emergency Room.

Save the two patients that had been in a car crash and were in recovery, the kid with a broken arm, and the alcoholic that had a nasty cut on her face from when she had passed out from having too much to drink, Carol Hathaway sighed in relief when she realized she would be free for the evening, for the first time in weeks.

As she ran a hand through her curly black hair, she also realized that she wasn't the only one thankful for the obvious lack of activity. Chuny had her hair down and was quickly putting on her coat, grinning in delight, while Haleh and Conni were laughing at something Wendy had said. Carol smiled at the peaceful scene playing out in front of her. It had been a while since there had been this sort of quiet in the ER, and to be truthful, everyone deserved it.

A loud noise from her left disturbed Carol's thoughts.

Haleh glared playfully "Chuny, be careful. What's the rush, you got a date or something?"

"No," Chuny replied "My mother is flying in from Mexico, and her flight's gonna be arriving pretty soon. It'd been a while since I've seen her, and I just don't wanna keep her waiting."

"Well, she isn't going anywhere, so don't hurt yourself on your way there." Conni added as Chuny rolled her eyes good naturedly, gathering her things into her purse, and then rushing out of sight.

Carol let out a small smile, before she felt a buzz from her pocket. She tuned out of the conversation as she peered at the message on the phone. After a moment or two, she wasn't smiling anymore.

"What about you?"

Carol shook her head, and looked up at Haleh. "Sorry, what?"

"I asked what's the most reckless thing you've done when you've panicked."

Another buzz from her phone caught Carol's attention. "Oh, I don't know." She muttered distractedly, her face now holding a frown. Haleh and Conni exchanged glances.

"You okay, Carol?" Conni asked in mild concern.

Carol sighed and looked up at her friends again. "Yeah, it's just, you know that guy that I met at the bar two days ago?"

"Yeah, what about him?" Haleh asked in suspicion.

"Well, he cancelled on me tonight. So I guess I have nothing to do this evening." Carol tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

"Oh, honey, it's fine, you can go to the bar with us. He probably wasn't worth it anyways." Conni said as Haleh grabbed her cellphone.

"Haleh, don't- "There. Now he knows what he's missing out on." Haleh grinned as she handed the phone back, but not after typing out a response that caused Carol to roll her eyes.

"It's okay, really, I just thought it would be different. That maybe he wouldn't be like the others." Carol admitted, running her hand through her hair in disappointment. She was really looking forward to a good date, after all the bad ones she'd had recently.

Haleh stood up and gave her a quick hug. "I know, I know. Sometimes things don't work out, but it's fine because it was probably for the best." Conni nodded in agreement "He'll be regretting it. You'll see."

Carol sat back down in her chair, doubtful of herself. " You're probably right. But what if there's something wrong with me. I mean, all these dates have one thing in common: me. Maybe I'm not being flexible enough, or maybe-

"Girl, don't even start on that road. You are better than that. You know you are." Conni said, determined to make sure Carol didn't have such a false thought in her head.

"It would make sense wouldn't it? I mean, the last guy I had an actual, real relationship was with Tag, and look where that ended up."

Carol sighed one last time, before standing up, and grabbing her jacket when she saw Conni and Haleh open their mouths to disagree with her. Before they could say anything Carol, shook her head. "It's fine, guys. I'm just being dramatic."

She moved to walk away from the narrowed eyes staring at her, when a voice cut through.

"Hey Carol, I was thinking," Doug Ross started as he neared the end of the hallway, where the front desk was. Noticing a sort of uncomfortable silence, he stopped mid sentence and glanced at the faces of his coworkers. Haleh and Conni were looking at Carol with disapproval, while Carol looked mildly tense.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, suspecting the conversation had stopped abruptly due to his arrival.

Haleh crossed her arms in slight annoyance. "No," she said as Carol silently let go of the breath she was holding "-but you could help us tell your friend here that she is perfectly fine and that every guy she goes out with can't be Prince Charming."

Carol held her breath once again, and cast her eyes downwards in slight embarrassment, promising to herself she was going to get back at Haleh for doing this.

"Carol," Doug asked in a partially playful, yet concerned tone "What's Haleh talking about?"

"Isn't your shift supposed to be over? Anyway, it's fine,"

"No it is not fine. This girl needs to realize that the guy that cancelled on her was a douchebag."

Doug's expression softened. He searched Carol's face, and noticed her tense body language, before meeting her eyes that revealed hidden hurt and vulnerability that he was no stranger to. It made him feel like marching up to this guy and giving him a piece of his mind. He saw Carol shifting her feet, unsure of what to say, and a small part of him melted. He knew she talked all the time, but had always tried to hide what she was really feeling. He knew so much, but he could only so less. He wished he could make whatever she was feeling go away, but seeing as he couldn't he would do the one thing he could do.

"Carol can I talk to you for a second? Just really quick."

Carol sighed in defeat. She glared at Haleh and Conni's smirking yet concerned faces and trudged forward, following Doug into the hallway beside the front desk.

"What's going on Carol? You're normally not this hung over a date."

Carol huffed in annoyance. "Nothing's wrong Doug, I don't know what you're talking about."

Doug rolled his eyes. "Carol, I know you better than anyone else. I know something's up, and as I'm using up my very precious time, you should just talk to me because you might be able to fool everyone else, but not me."

Carol looked away from Doug's easy gaze. "I don't want to talk about it."

Doug narrowed his eyes, and they remained in silence for a few moments. "It's not about the guy, is it?" Doug asked, his question sounding more like a statement.

Carol tensed and turned around "I'm not doing-

Her breath hitched when Doug grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"Carol, you are not going to walk away. Hell, you have never walked away, which tells me there's definitely something going on." Carol's shoulder sagged slightly when she finally met his gaze, and the sincerity in it made her stop restraining. Doug sighed.

" I know we aren't exactly best friends, and I know this might be awkward, us talking about your poor judgment in men," Carol glared, and Doug smiled as he continued. "Carol Hathaway, you are the single most amazing woman I have ever met in my entire life. Sure there's Weaver and Del Amico, and lots of other women accomplished in what they do, but none of them have what you have. You are dedicated, determined, stubborn at times, and intelligent, but you are also loving, kind, sympathetic, and actually care about these people, these patients who everyone else thinks are screw-ups. You try to help, you've always tried to help, and will always help anyone who needs it because it's you. So maybe there are guys who will dump you, guys who'll think they found someone better, but believe me they will never know what a huge mistake they are making. All these guys, they'll come and go, but Carol, don't ever think you're not enough, and don't change because some asshole doesn't realize exactly who you are, because one day, you'll meet a guy. And he'll love you for who you are, he'll be jealous of your exes, he'll be there giving you little pep talks when you're down, he's going to make you feel whole, and god knows he'll screw up too. But that doesn't mean he's not out there. Carol, I may not be that guy, but I am your friend, so if it's the last thing you do, promise me you'll always be you, because you deserve someone who wants you for who you are."

Doug looked so determinedly and expectantly into Carol's eyes, she felt almost dizzy. There was a silence that enveloped them as Carol stared for what felt like hours. Hearing him speak had been surprising, to say the least. The silence allowed her thoughts to settle and for her to look at the man in front of her in a light she didn't think had been possible a while back. His eyes still held the sincerity and expectance, and it was when she softly said 'I promise' the revere was broken and Doug's demeanor broke as he became the same playful person she was used to.

"Good, because I was beginning to think I said a little too much." Carol chuckled with Doug, and reveled the embrace of the familiar lightheartedness in the air.

Supposedly realizing their close proximity, Doug stepped slightly backwards, and then grinned at her, before awkwardly clearing his throat. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Doug grinned again as he scratched his ear before speaking up. "Listen. I was going to ask if you wanted to eat at that new burger place that opened up with me."

Carol laughed at the sudden change of dynamic. "Sure."

They parted from their initial position, and then turned to walk in the direction of the exit. "I'm paying." Carol added, successfully breaking the recently formed air of awkwardness.

…..

John Carter and Mark Greene exchanged glances with one another as they saw their close friends walking out of the building. Carter leaned one arm against the desk as he continued to stare at the exit, a little wide eyed. Mark looked equally confused, and the nurses started to shake themselves off their own reaction snickering at the looks the two doctors were displaying. Mark turned his head, and raised one eyebrow. "What?"

"It's just, you look like you've seen a ghost or something." Conni shook her head as she replied.

"Well a ghost would have been more expected than whatever _Doug Ross_ just said." Carter said. When he had gone to the front desk to have a chat with the nurses, this is the last thing he, or anyone else in the room for the matter expected.

Haleh grinned before raising and dropping her eyebrows. "Don't worry, it's new to us too. Him of all people; who would've thought. Then again, Doug and Carol's entire history is complicated."

Conni chuckled. " You got that right." Her sudden smirk caused everyone to narrow their eyes.

" What're you thinking?" Haleh asked with a raised eyebrow.

"20 bucks says they get together by the end of the month."


End file.
